This invention relates to a continuous process for the production of sodium azide wherein sodium amide on a support material of sodium azide and sodium hydroxide is reacted with nitrous oxide or dinitrogen monooxide (N.sub.2 O).
The production of sodium azide has heretofore been conducted by reacting sodium amide with nitrous oxide at temperatures of above 190.degree. C. At this temperature, sodium amide is present in the molten phase. For this reason, it is applied to a support material of sodium azide and sodium hydroxide. The reaction is performed discontinuously in mixing reactors permitting because of the size of the reactors maximally the conversion of 130 kg of sodium amide within 8 hours.
During the reaction between sodium amide and nitrous oxide, water is formed in addition to the target product, sodium azide; this water reacts with sodium amide leading to the formation of ammonia and sodium hydroxide. Since ammonia and nitrous oxide form an explosive mixture, the aforedescribed mode of operation for producing sodium azide has given rise to explosions in case the two gases are in an explosive mixing range. Consequently, enlargement of the reactor volume to increase the space-time yield in this conventional process would considerable heighten the danger of explosions, which are no longer controllable.
Therefore, the problem presents itself of guiding the reaction between sodium amide and nitrous oxide in such a way that sodium azide is obtained in a considerably larger space-time yield than in the disclosed methods without incurring the aforedescribed disadvantages.